Talent sto­ries

4 people smiling at International House Oulu

Pava­ni, Sara, Edu­ra­do and Jun  are Inter­na­tio­nal House Oulu ambas­sa­dors 2023.

Would you like to get to know what it’s like to stu­dy or work in Oulu? Meet our inter­na­tio­nal talent who live in Oulu and read their ins­pi­ra­tio­nal sto­ries.

A Sto­ry All About Explo­ring Dif­fe­rent Cul­tu­res, Stu­dying, and Con­nec­tions

Nada Abass is ori­gi­nal­ly from Egypt and cur­rent­ly living in Fin­land. Nada’s jour­ney took a fasci­na­ting turn when she had the oppor­tu­ni­ty to beco­me a Com­mu­nica­tion Trai­nee at Inter­na­tio­nal House Oulu.

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From Gha­na to Fin­land: Lukumanu’s path to Pro­ject Mana­ge­ment

In a world full of oppor­tu­ni­ties, Luku­ma­nu Iddrisu’s remar­kable jour­ney took him from the vibrant streets of Gha­na to the unique city of Vaa­sa, Fin­land.

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Embracing the Magic of Oulu: A Jour­ney of Inte­gra­tion and Explo­ra­tion

Pava­ni is deligh­ted to sha­re her inc­re­dible jour­ney arri­ving in the enc­han­ting city of Oulu, Fin­land, in August 2022. Hai­ling from the beau­ti­ful island of Sri Lan­ka,

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From Tex­ti­le Design in South Korea to Social Ser­vices in Oulu, Fin­land

Life has a way of gui­ding us on unex­pec­ted paths, lea­ding to inc­re­dible trans­for­ma­tions. Meet Bora Kim, a kind indi­vi­dual who had a unique jour­ney from South Korea to Oulu, Fin­land.

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”Oulu is a place whe­re pas­sio­na­te people and beau­ti­ful natu­re are welco­ming you”

Jun Naka­mu­ra is ori­gi­nal­ly from Japan. Cur­rent­ly, he stu­dies MSc. in Inter­na­tio­nal Busi­ness Mana­ge­ment at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu.

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“The­re is somet­hing for eve­ry­one in Oulu”

She­fat Islam is ori­gi­nal­ly from Bah­rain. Cur­rent­ly, she is a com­mu­nica­tions intern and stu­dies MSc. in Mar­ke­ting at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu.

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Woman with lake view
Man smiling

“Knowing people here is what makes things easier”

Moa­men Ibra­him, 28, is ori­gi­nal­ly from Egypt. He works now as a Mac­hi­ne Lear­ning Engi­neer at Soli­ta. He has been here in Oulu for five years.

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“Don’t get anno­yed by long dark days in win­ter, you have snow and auro­ras”

Jawad Malik came here from Pakis­tan to stu­dy master’s in educa­tion and tech­no­lo­gy and pur­sue his pas­sion in telecom­mu­nica­tion.

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Man watching winter scenery in Oulu
Woman smiling

“Don’t say ‘No’ when oppor­tu­ni­ties come knoc­king”

Vanes­sa Phe­ka­ni came to Oulu from Malawi. She hold a bachelor’s degree in public admi­ni­stra­tion and socio­lo­gy, and a master’s degree in educa­tion and glo­ba­li­sa­tion from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu.

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“What I love about the people here is that they are great lis­te­ners”

Kamal Singh came to Oulu in 2010 for his stu­dies from India. At the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu, he stu­died to be a wire­less com­mu­nica­tion engi­neer. Cur­rent­ly, Kamal is wor­king as a Network coor­di­na­tor.

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“Win­ter acti­vi­ties in Oulu make it an even more special city”

Mous­ta­fa Khai­ri is wor­king as a mac­hi­ne lear­ning ope­ra­tions engi­neer in Oulu. He is 25 years old, and his home city is Alexandria, Egypt.

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“I know that in Oulu, I can trust people”

Gök­han Depo stu­died in the Educa­tion and Glo­ba­li­sa­tion (EdGlo) master’s pro­gram­me at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu between 2014 and 2017. Now he works at E2 Research, an inde­pen­dent, mul­ti­discipli­na­ry, research orga­ni­sa­tion.

Kiran Pandit

”Oulu is a help­ful place for inter­na­tio­nal stu­dents, and people are nice”

Kiran Pan­dit came to Fin­land from Nepal and comple­ted a Bachelor’s Degree in Inter­na­tio­nal Busi­ness at Oulu Uni­ver­si­ty of Applied Sciences (OAMK). He is a chair­per­son of the board of Pin­ta­mes­ta­rit.

The inc­re­dible jour­ney of Chia­ra Boset­ti

Oulu Talent Hub Ambas­sa­dor Chia­ra Boset­ti, ori­gi­nal­ly from Ita­ly, came to Oulu one year ago. “I had great expec­ta­tions, and I cer­tain­ly got what I was loo­king for”, she says.

Woman smiling at the front of Oulu University

“During my first walks in Oulu, I felt like I was in a fai­ry tale”

Débo­ra Oli­vei­ra, 34, is from São Pau­lo, Brazil. Besi­des doing a master’s in educa­tion and glo­ba­li­sa­tion at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu, she is a com­mu­nica­tions trai­nee at Oulu Talent Hub.

“If you want to work in Oulu, belie­ve in your­self and push hard”

Vik­tors Sobo­levs came to Oulu from Lat­via, and stu­died at Oulu Uni­ver­si­ty of Applied Sciences (Oamk). Now, he works as a busi­ness pro­duct mana­ger at Polar.

Woman smiling next to trees

How Oulu beca­me a must-go place for a for­mer BBC jour­na­list?

Right now, Eri­ka Ben­ke is wor­king as a cont­ri­bu­tor to BBC News and as a free­lance jour­na­list. Befo­re moving to Oulu, she lived in Lon­don for 23 years. She found here the qua­li­ty of life she was loo­king for. “After two years of wor­king in Oulu, I’m still as relaxed as if I was on holi­day”, she says.

Doris Yue belie­ves her dreams will come true in Oulu

Doris Yue, 35, came to Oulu from Hong Kong. She is mar­ried with a Fin­nish man and moved to Oulu about two and a half years ago. Now she works as an arc­hi­tect and enjo­ys her life.

Nainen hymyilee kameralle

“Nort­hern Lights – the best thing to expe­rience in Oulu”

Shar­min Farah came to Oulu from Bangla­desh. Her life has chan­ged sig­ni­ficant­ly during the five years she have lived in Fin­land. Though it has been a rol­lercoas­ter ride, I am enjo­ying this jour­ney, Shar­min says.

”You must come to Oulu with an open mind and a big smi­le”

Jun­naid Iqbal works as a Sys­tem Simu­la­tion Engi­neer at Nokia. He has been in Oulu near­ly two and a half years.

“Oulu is a per­fect envi­ron­ment for fami­lies”

Tama­ra Louis, 30, is an arc­hi­tec­tu­ral desig­ner living in Oulu. She came here from Rus­sia in Sep­tem­ber 2012. We inter­viewed Tama­ra about her thoughts on living and wor­king in Oulu.

“I feel posi­ti­ve about my pos­si­bi­li­ties here”

Niy­ati Kan­di­kan­ti is an ambas­sa­dor for Oulu Talent Hub, and she enjo­ys networ­king. – The­re are many oppor­tu­ni­ties in Oulu to inte­ract with other inter­na­tio­nal stu­dents and visit new places.

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Woman with flowers

“I think eve­ry­bo­dy can find friends here”

Maja Ter­ning is from Tromsø in Nort­hern Norway. She has been living here in Oulu for 16 years now, and wor­king with Business­Oulu for about eight years.

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